


Just Another Lucky Day

by nevergotwings



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Helpful Steve, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, background Natasha/OC, bucky should never cut his own hair, expect various avengers to pop up, ghost character, post credit scene
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-02-28 01:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2713541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevergotwings/pseuds/nevergotwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All she wanted to do was her job, her rightful duty like she always did. Why did doing it have to make her life turn upside down?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt the need to write something new and out of my comfort zone. ...This is what I got. I'm positive there's more to come.
> 
> Enjoy.

"Agent West, what's your status?" a voice said, ringing into a woman's ear.

She frowned and shook her head. Why on earth had she signed up to help again? Oh right, because it was her 'calling'. Well, part of that calling hadn't been to be a gopher for anyone. Or a prized man child billionaire. "Tony, I've been waiting in line for ten minutes to pick up the order. Calm down."

"Well," he paused, "just so it gets here soon, agent."

A sigh and she said, "Please stop calling me agent. I'm not even an agent, really. Eva's fine."

"Agent."

Eva heard the beep that signaled the conversation was ended and glared up at the ceiling. Here she was, standing in an italian resturaunt, waiting for an order to take back to Tony Stark like his own personal delivery girl. All because she got the numbers wrong when she faxed her application to a perspective new job. Typical as per her luck. Finally her number was called and one of the servers brought her a bag. At least whatever he ordered smelled good, Eva supposed.  
  
And maybe she knew it would spite the man or possibly get her fired on her first day, but she decided as she exited the resturaunt to take the longest way she could map out in her head to get back to Stark Tower. Maybe it would teach him some patience...

Rounding the corner, Eva tucked her coat around her better to avoid the wind that began to blow on her. It was bad enough that she had decided to walk the couple of blocks, the weather taking a turn for the chilly was making her regret the decision. She shivered once, shoving her hands in the coat pockets and cut down an alley where she hoped she'd be blocked from the wind.

And that she was, but she tripped over a boot. A boot that was on a foot that was attached to a leg and, no doubt, attached to a person.

Thankfully, she hadn't fell, but it did strike her attention. Eva stopped once steady, keeping distance from the body as she tried to investigate. "Excuse me?"

She couldn't see if it was a man or woman since the person had their head down and a hat on; the long dark hair protruding from under the hat made her think one way, but the build made her think the opposite. Not that it was exactly the brightest or safest idea to get in said person's personal space, but Eva couldn't help but make sure they were okay. It was the damn helpful gene in her DNA - something she always blamed in most occurances. The bag from the resturaunt was placed on the ground and she moved closer to the person, kneeling to reach out one of her hands to check their wrist for a pulse.

A slow heartbeat throbbed against the pads of her two fingers and sent her into work mode. This was what she knew how to do - care for people. Not be a personal delivery girl. Eva frowned at the thought and quickly pulled out her phone, dialing 911 and speaking as soon as the operator on the other end picked up.

"Hi, this is Evangeline West with Lennox Hill ambulence service. I just found--"

She was abruptly cut off when the person suddenly moved, knocking the phone from her hand and covering her mouth quickly. Her eyes went wide and a shiver ran down her spine as she was face to face with the person - the man - that she thought was unconcious. Instinct wanted to take over and to try and get away from the man, but training told her that might only agitate him further and cause her more problems.

"No," he said in a low voice. She gave a muffled sound of confusion and the man shook his head, frowning deeply. His eyes darted towards the phone that had been flung a few feet away, just at the mouth of the alley. A worried look crossed his features and he let go of her, only to spring up and run out of the alley.

It was just too bad that he stepped on her phone in the process.

In her daze, she stared at the broken phone. Had the man been sleeping? Was he strung out? Should she follow him? Questions flew through her mind as she sat there silently. It must have been longer than she thought of sitting in silence, playing the scenario back and questioning things when she heard the cry of sirens nearing. It brought her attention back to the now as she heard a car door open and a police officer hurried to her.

"Ma'am? Are you the one that called 911?"

Eva let out a breath she apparently had been holding and said, "Yeah. Yeah, that's me."

The officer looked her over and glanced down the alley. "What seems to be the problem?"

Confused as to where she could start, Eva told him, "There was a man sitting here. I thought there was something wrong but...I was mistaken. Sorry."

"Do you need help up? Are you alright?"

"Fine." She stood up and brushed her jeans off, shaking her head.

A huff of irritation came from the officer and he said, "Next time, make sure it's an emergency ma'am."

Nodding, she watched as the officer turned to leave her alone in the alley. Eva waited to move until he was gone, watching the police car drive by and approaching her broken cell phone on the ground. She plucked it off the ground and sighed. "Great." Throwing the phone into one of the close by dumpsters, she stepped out of the alley. It must have been a sign to keep doing what she knew, to stick to her guns. Why had she wanted a second job anyways? A hand raised to her forehead, rubbing at the appearing tension headache as she started back towards her apartment, leaving the food in the alley as her notice of resignation for Tony Stark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, I'm winging this story slightly. I know where it's going, but just have to fill in gaps.   
> Expect a fanmix to come soon for ze characters. 
> 
> Enjoy. :)

"...So I'm just going to try to get more hours and go from there," Eva explained as she stood in the ambulence bay of the hospital, using the trunk's passenger side rear view mirror to fix her long dark hair into a ponytail. It was getting out of hand when she was in the field working not that it was below her shoulders by three, maybe four inches. She made note to try to get it trimmed soon.

Beside her was her partner, Dan. Or 'Mister tan Edward Cullen', as Eva referred to him frequently as. They'd met in a haz-mat class that was manditory for them when they were in school. Dan in a paramedic program; Eva in an EMT one. Since that day, she liked to poke fun that if his face were a little differently structured - he would look like Edward Cullen. Not that she ever admitted to watching one of those godforsaken movies. Too much cliche and not enough of her time to spare, even if she had wanted to see it.

Dan had his arms crossed and brow raised curiously as he asked, "But what, you just never called that other job back?"

"Nope. Didn't even feel the need to." She straightened up, hair finally back and out of her face. "He's Tony Stark. I'm sure he's so rich that he can just throw money at someone to do his tasks."

"Which...could have been you."

 "Dignity, Dan." Eva sighed, "It's what I have compared to him." At that, she turned and moved past him towards the hospital's entrance for emergency crews. "Now let's go check and see what happened with our cardic..."

As they entered the sliding automatic doors, little did they know that they had been being watched the whole time. Not both of them, per say. Just Eva. Across the street at an outdoor table of a coffee shop sat a man wearing all black and gray clothes, eyes fixed on the ambulence bay with his features twisted into something of a frown. Anyone around to see this would've been suspicious.

But no - the man sat unnoticed and simply left the same way once they entered the hospital.

It was as if he had never been there. A ghost to the world.

* * *

Eva arrived home twenty minutes after her shift had ended. Another eight hours under her belt, another exhausting day. Nothing out of the ordinary. Once she checked that the lock on her apartment door was secure, she dropped her backpack, let down her hair, and kicked her boots to a little mat beside the door with a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately and fortunately, she lived alone and her house was quiet. It wasn't that she enjoyed all the silence; but after a long day of listening to beeps and sirens and screams, the peace was always welcomed.

Without bothering to change or shower, she moseyed into the livingroom where she plopped down on the couch face first. A hand reached out to blindly find the remote for the tv for some background noise. It only took a few minutes of lightly slapping the table until she found it and turned it on, keeping the volume low. A sketch comedy show only got part of her attention as she started to doze off. Her eyes darted to the clock, noticing it hadn't hit midnight yet. "Sleepy time early, yes," she hummed contently into the pillow her face was smushed against.

Just as she felt herself starting to fall asleep, a strange sound distracted her mind from the bliss she wanted so badly. Something that sounded like a rattling. Eva picked her head up slightly, looking at the television screen.

Nope. Wasn't that. There was a skit about politics on the show happening.

She thought she had figured out what the sound was when her cellphone began to vibrate and ring loudly from her pants pocket. Grumbling and groaning, she sat up and looked at the screen to see it was Dan calling. "Now why does he always have to fill the role of brother when I don't need one..." A shake of her head and she answered with a click of a button on the screen. "Yes, Dan, I'm home and safe and the door is locked so goodnight." She rambled off her words quickly and promptly ended the call, hanging up on her partner and tossing the phone gently onto the coffee table before crashing back to the couch where she quickly fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning when she awoke to the sun beaming down on her face, Eva sat up, facing the door - and noticed it was open a crack.

"Shit." 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news is that I sorta mapped out where I want the story to go. Dan will be a staple character in time, along with some Avengers. :)
> 
> But let's get back to the good stuff.

As soon as she saw that the door was open acrack when she awoke, Eva stilled on the couch. Had that been the noise she heard last night? Was someone trying to get into her apartment? Panic set in quickly and she wanted to stay frozen but instinct told her to act.

And fast.

Eva pulled her trauma shears that had been safely holstered in her pants throughout the night and brandished them as she got to her feet slowly. Sure, they wouldn't do much if there was an intruder in her apartment; but maybe they wouldn't realize it. Maybe it would be one of those simple minded people that thought they were just plain old scissors. All she could do is hope as she inched towards the door and shut it, locking it and this time adding the chain latch that she never liked using.

Steeling herself, she called out. "If anyone's there, you'd better speak now. I'm armed and I will protect myself if I have to."

She waited a few minutes before even deciding to move.

Nothing.

Just silence.

Gathering her courage from the lack of a response, Eva finally moved. She only took a few steps towards the little kitchen area that was attached to the living room as she glanced at her bedroom. The door was ajar and she mentally promised herself that if there was a person hiding in there, she was never watching a scary movie ever again. Eva moved quickly, bursting into her room and waving around her trauma shears wildly.

Thankfully, the room was just as she left it before work. Personless.

And now she felt silly for panicking. Even though that didn't dismiss the question on why the door to her apartment had been open in the first place and why it had sounded like someone tried to get in. Maybe she was overly paranoid. Or maybe someone came in and decided her things weren't worth stealing? It was a nice thought, but a sad one at the same time. Eva thought the stuff she had was pretty cool. Not expensive, but cool.

"Jeeze," she muttered, shaking her head as she tossed her shears on her dresser. She'd definitely say something to the landlord and double check over things. But first, Eva needed to flop down face first on her bed to near-mope that her possessions weren't good enough for the common burgalar. Stupid, she knew, but it had to be done.

* * *

A knock on the door and Eva yelled, "Come in!" She was in the kitchen, readying some popcorn and snacks for the ritual of Saturday movie night. It was something her and Dan started when they were in school. It used to have more participants, but unfortunately, no one needed that vacation of the mind after the grueling studying was all over.

Dan entered the kitchen, pulling his coat off and hanging it over the back of one of the two chairs in the kitchen. Eva glanced over her shoulder and saw him wiggle a bottle of wine happily. "You sounded like you needed a drink."

"Yes, yes, and yes a thousand times." After all the crap that happened in the morning with her door being open and nothing being touched - nothing was even moved an inch - she needed something to relax her mind. There had been too many questions about the event and absolutely no answers she could find. It was gnawing at her.

"And now it sounds like I should have brought more than a bottle."

"You know what," she started to say as she stopped the microwave. "Let's go out and get drinks tonight." Because the thought of leaving the house for a little while made her brighten. Then she really wouldn't have to think about any of it. "Do you mind?"

The look of surprise on Dan's face slipped away with ease as he shrugged. "Not at all, no. We can go out and get drinks if you want. As long as it doesn't take you long to get ready."

She stared at him with a dull expression. "Ha ha. You're so funny." Eva knew he was picking on her. She was the girl that didn't own a single skirt after all. One dress, yes; but skirts no. There was never time for her to wear them. They were inconvienent for her line of work, anyways. Plucking the half popped bag of popcorn from the microwave and dropping it in the trash as she moved towards her bedroom, Eva threw him a glare. "Just for that, I'll dress nice and not take long. Punk," she told him, sticking out her tongue before shutting the door to change.

It really didn't take much thinking, work, or time at all. Eva was just transitioning from sweatpants and a t-shirt to a dress, one that she still regretted buying.

The hot pink dress looked like it belonged on someone in a nightclub with its brightness and how it showed a little skin. Unfortunately, Eva lost a bet with someone and they ended up getting her the dress to go out in. It had been living in the back of her closet ever since. She was surprised it even still fit, really. It had been a year since the one time wear.

A quick brush through her hair after slipping the dress on and grabbing a pair of heels, and Eva felt like there wasn't much more she wanted to do to spiffy up. Impressing people wasn't exactly on her agenda for the evening. But to be fair she applied a little bit of mascara and lip gloss to make it look like she tried. Which she did but gave up mentally halfway through.

Eva grabbed a coat and left her room, moving past Dan to the front door. She didn't feel a need to bring her cellphone - it was just a crappy replacement for the one that got broke the day before - or her purse. "I beat your concept of women getting ready, now let's go." Dan looked dumbfounded, almost impressed as he grabbed his coat and opened the door for her, pulling it shut behind him.

* * *

 One of the perks of living in Manhattan was that it was always lively. There was never a quiet night and something was always going on. Eva usually didn't partake in the fun aspects of the city, keeping a calm profile and simply enjoying the little shops. But tonight was one of those rare nights where she went out - actually out, where there were other people and music and drinking and dancing. Dan at least had a little more knowledge about the club life in the city. She'd heard stories about when he turned 21 and knew very well he could name at least 5 different clubs off the top of his head.

The club he took her to was called Pulse. It had only been a fifteen minute taxi ride away from where she lived and Dan got them right inside due to apparently knowing the bouncer by first name.

And Eva certainly understood how the place got its name as she stood in one of the balcony areas, surrounding by people talking and drinking. Her entire being was being moved by the music. The steady thumps pulsed through her and she was sure she felt the beat in her throat.

She was watching the dance floor below, observing the people move and flow as Dan appeared from the sea of people around her with two drinks. He handed one to her and took a sip. Rum and coke. It's like he had read her mind. Eva took a longer sip, relishing the sting.

"Better?"

"Much," she said.

For a while they stood leaning on the countertop that was the barrier keeping them safe from the floor below, just enjoying their drinks and making some comments on the people watching they were doing. They eventually needed a refill, which Dan offered to go get. As he was picking up their glasses and turning to go, Eva nudged his shoulder. "I think I'm going to venture down there. Just for a few minutes." He nodded. She wasn't much of a dancer, but losing herself for a moment in time sounded serene. And it helped she wasn't alone. She knew Dan would watch her back from the balcony area they were hanging around in.

Eva weaved through the people and finally reached the dancefloor where she mixed in easily with the bodies. The music playing was good, something she could catch the flow of. She started to move, not bothered by how she looked. Everyone else was dancing so when would they have time to judge her awful skills? It felt like the seconds were slipping into hours, just going along with the vibes and energy.

Her hands went to her hair, pushing it from her shoulders to let it dangle when she leaned her head back. That's when Eva felt a hand on her hip. It didn't bother her, not when she had alcohol in her system to keep her mind clouded. Dancing with a partner was easier, anyways - or at least, that's what she silently told herself to assure herself so she didn't fly off and slap the hand away. Instead, she carefully spun around once and faced the person joining her.

The guy was handsome, to say the least. Short dark hair that was a little longer on one side, stubble that she could vaguely see in the neon lighting, and eyes that looked blue to her. As they swayed to the music together, she noticed how they watched her. Eva felt like she was a work of art on display, that this guy was a visitor trying to appreciate understand her different shades and textures. His lips tugged into a hint of a small smile, causing her to duck her head to the side and laugh a little. This was silly. She was dancing with a stranger to ease her mind from the last two days. How that made sense, she didn't know.

Eva returned her eyes to settle on his and something mentally pulled at her, nagging almost. A weird feeling that said 'WARNING' bubbled up in her stomach and caused her to stop. She pulled away from the stranger and hurried through the people on the dance floor, not realizing where he feet were taking her fully until she felt the cold chill of night air on her bare arms and legs. Eva shivered, taking a few steps away from where the bouncer sat and soon enough heard Dan calling her name.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw him rushing to her side with both of their coats in hand. "Why'd you dart? What happened? Did that guy try to pull something?"

Shaking her head, she said, "I don't know and no. He just..." Her thoughts began to gather and came to a conculsion that she voiced aloud to her friend. "His eyes were familiar." So similar to the ones that stared at her in the alley those two days ago... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dress reference: https://nothingbutthegood.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/crystal-reed-helmut-newton-opening-01.jpg  
> Music reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-js14TTBgI  
> Bucky's hair reference (& a little eye candy): http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/26/d3/46/26d3467be30eb881186b1faa89640ac2.jpg


	4. Chapter 4

"You sure you're okay?"

Eva nodded, hiding her hands in the sleeves of her sweatshirt. She could no longer count how many times she'd been asked that on the cab ride back to her apartment from the club. Yes, she was a little shaken up over things, but being inside her own familiar space helped. Plus, it wasn't cold in the apartment as it was outside.

"Positive? I'll crash on the couch if--"

"Dan," Eva interjected, "I'm fine. I was just thrown off, that's all."

He opened the door and started to let himself out as he said, "I'm a phone call away if you need me. And that bottle of wine I left here is all yours. Just don't drink it all in one go. I don't want a call about you having alcohol posioning."

A final reassuring look and he was gone. Eva made sure to lock the door behind him, chain and all; before letting out a breath of relief. She stared at the door for a moment, deciding that she needed a glass of that wine. Some wine and a good show to chill out. Maybe a snack, too. Barefeet padded into the kitchen as she took her phone from where she left it on the counter prior to leaving and stuffed it into the pocket of her sweatpants. No need to have to run to the phone when Dan called because she knew he would. He'd probably worry the whole four blocks home and then some.

She shook her head at the thought of her friend being a worrywort and pulled a wine glass from the cabinet. A corkscrew and a few fights with the bottle later, she was pouring herself a glass of the wine. Red. A sniff of it had her glancing at the bottle. A sangria. Dan really did know her too well. Eva was just bringing the glass to her lips to take a sip when there was a knock at her door. Instantly, her happy moment of peace deflated. There was no choice but to walk over and see who it was.

"Dan, I swear, if you're checking up on me already and not even by phone--"

Leaving the chain lock on, she opened the door as far as it could go and looked out to see a face that wasn't Dan's.

No, it was another face she immediately recognized. It was the guy that had been dancing with her at the bar.

Eva paled and her expression dropped.

Without thinking, she quickly reshut the door and leaned against it. If she was right and this was the same guy from the alley, why was he here? And how had he found her? Was he following her? "Oh god, he's a stalker," Eva whispered to herself. She had to think a moment about what to do. A long gulp of her wine helped steel her, she reopened the door, and asked, "Can I help you?"

For a moment he just stood there, quiet and staring at the floor. As if he was trying to figure out what he wanted to say. It gave her the chance to see him better in the light of the hallway, at least. He was taller than her by some inches, wearing jeans and a black peatcoat with gloves. Well, there was a positive. The guy dressed better for the weather than she did, apparently.

Eva cleared her throat - which startled him, causing him to jump slightly and look up at her. "I just, uh..." He shook his head. "Sorry, I just wanted to ask if your name is Evangeline West."

She swallowed hard. "Maybe. Why?"

"The other day, she thought I needed help or something in an alley and I snapped at her. I wanted to apologize."

Her eyes narrowed. Okay, so it wasn't as bad as she expected. But that still didn't answer her question of how he found her. "Apology accepted," Eva finally said after a long moment of silence. "You owe me a new phone though." She shifted her grip on the door, still wary he might try something. "How did you find me?"

He shrugged. "Lennox Hill. I went and asked about you. And as big as a city Manhattan is, it's actually small." He must have noticed her hesitating with the door because he added, "If I replace your, uh...phone?" Eva nodded, confused as to why he sounded unsure. "Can I bring it by tomorrow afternoon?"

Her gut reaction was telling her this guy was alright, not some deranged stalker; but she wasn't trusting her gut fully. "How about you drop it off tomorrow night in the ambulance bay of the hospital instead. Sound fair?"

A nod was his response. He scratched the back of his head idly with a gloved hand and said, "I'll see you then."

Just as he turned and started to leave, Eva had to ask - "Do you have a name or...?" If he knew her name, she wanted to at least find his out.

"Bucky," he said, glancing over his shoulder as he stopped. "You can call me Bucky."

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Bucky." Shutting the door and relocking it, Eva polished off her glass of wine and deemed she would definitely need the rest of that bottle tonight.

* * *

 Alcohol induced sleep was her favorite kind of sleep. Next to exhausted and coma-like sleep. It wasn't without it's events though. That night, the man - Bucky - from before invaded her dreams.

She was in the passenger seat of a car, an all too familiar one. Eva knew this dream. She had it often since the accident and it always went the same way. The man in the driver seat and her were going down the highway with ease, barely a care in the world until she heard honking.

Eva knew what was about to come next.

She looked over at the driver to see a black SUV speeding at the side of their car. "Oliver!" Her scream was heard too late and all the other sounds drowned it out anyways. The crash of the car into theirs, the shattering of windows, more horns blowing. This time, she wore she saw Bucky's eyes in the other car as it hit them. It caused such a panic in her that brought her out of the dream and back into her bedroom, fully awake with wide eyes and sweat on her forehead as she tried to catch her breath.

Telling herself it didn't mean anything, that it was just the buzz from the evening and learning Bucky's name; had her calming down and letting out an uneasy breath.

"It was just a dream," Eva voiced to herself out loud. "Just a dream, so go back to sleep..."

Needless to say, she didn't get much sleep the rest of the night and found herself already up when the sun rose that morning.

 


	5. Side Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once in a while, when I find the brain power and musings, I'll write a side chapter like this. Just a little something to give Bucky's POV because the world through his eyes can be interesting, too!

 Running.

That was all he knew in the past few days. Run from cameras, run from people that looked at him peculiarly, run from anything that made his head throb painfully.

But right now? He was running from two people chasing him. One was on foot, always a few steps behind him but drawing nearer with every stride; the other was in a car, speeding behind and trying to avoid traffic.

He heard the one behind him say something but wasn't focused enough to catch it all. Only did he recognize the words when he somehow caught up to him and tackled him to the ground, arms wrapping around his midsection tightly. This person knew he was going to try and dart again.

"...We're trying to help you!"

The car screeched to a stop and he fought against the other's grip. Footsteps drew near and he thrashed some more against the one that tackled him.

"Steve--"

"No! He knows! I know he's remembering and he needs help!" The man's voice was stern, yet familiar.

Remembering... What was he remembering again?

... _James_...

... _Howling Commandos_...

The painful throbbing was back and he yelled at the man's voice. "Shut up! Shut up, _shut up_ , **_shut up_**!" It wasn't getting any better. All he wanted was for it to go away and stop. There was too much pain for him to handle.

"Bucky?"

His mind raced.

_'Who the hell is Bucky?'_

_'You're my friend.'_

_'I thought you were smaller.'_

_'You don't like music?'_

_'Let's hear it for Captain America!'_

_"Remember when I made you ride the Cyclone on Coney Island?"_ He didn't realize that sentence actually came out of his mouth. Not until he heard the man with the tight grip give a choked response.

"And I threw up." The man's voice was cracked and wobbly, as if he was on the verge of crying.

No - not the man's voice. Steve's.

Steve Rogers. Captain America. His best friend in the whole damn world.

He didn't realize there were tears streaming down his own face either until the wetness touched his chin. "I'm sorry," he sobbed. Ceasing to fight Steve, he brought his hands up to his friend's arms and cried. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Bucky kept his eyes downcast. He couldn't bare to look at anyone. Especially the red head that watched him cry on the sidewalk over an hour ago with his best friend while his mind was ripped up and pieced back together all at the same time.

"He can stay here," a man who failed to introduce himself said. Bucky gave him his own name instead. Patchy. Because he wore an eyepatch. Easy enough to remember. "We'll monitor him for a while."

"He's a person. Not one of your new subjects," Steve had said. "I'm taking him back to stay at my place. I have room and I can handle myself if anything goes wrong."

"But can you handle him?" Patchy asked, something like venom in his voice.

Silence filled the room and mulled around until the female's voice spoke up. "I'll lend a pair of eyes. Only because I agree. Him staying here won't help him. It might only make it worse."

They continued to talk as if he wasn't sitting in the room with him more, but Bucky just phased them out and counted the colors in the carpet.

* * *

 Later on in the day, Bucky sat at an outdoor cafe. He was waiting for Steve to get them something to drink, Bucky deciding he didn't want to go inside for an odd reason that he didn't disclose with his friend.

Across the street, there was the exit of a hospital that was something like a garage. Two people stood outside, talking; and he couldn't help but stare at the one - a woman who was pulling long dark hair up into a ponytail. She was wearing a uniform, obviously employed and working on the ambulence. A frown crossed his face. He wanted to tear his eyes away, but he couldn't find the will. He felt as if he knew this woman. Why did she seem so familiar?

"C'mon Bucky!" he heard Steve call.

He got up from the seat and hurried after his friend, making note about the woman and to find out who she was.

* * *

 "Bucky, No! Don't--"

He froze, scissors pointed towards himself as he stood in the bathroom and turned to see Steve in the doorway, looking panicked. Bucky didn't see what the big deal was. All he was doing was cutting his hair. Maybe Steve had other thoughts... "I'm just cutting my hair," Bucky explained with a chuckle, using the scissors to snip of some of the long hair. The long hair in the mirror had made him think about the past few decades and what he'd done under HYDRA's control. He needed that weight off his shoulders.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Steve lean further on the door and laugh silently. "Overreacted. Sorry. Want help?"

"Nahh. I got it."

"You do know there are still barbershops around though, right?"

"I want to do it myself this once," he explained, keeping watch in the mirror where he was cutting. It was theraputic. Almost as if he was cutting ties to the past. It didn't elevate all the guilt he had, but it was a good start.

* * *

 A sound snapped him out of his trance, something from a television. Bucky blinked a few times before looking around. He wasn't at Steve's apartment anymore. He was somewhere else. Another apartment, it seemed. But he didn't remember how he got there. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on his friend's couch. Had he been sleepwalking?

Another sound, this time coming from a woman sleeping on the couch behind him shocked him into being very alert of where he was. It was that woman he'd seen outside the cafe! Oh god, why was he here? Why was he _still_ here? Before he could muster answers to his questions, Bucky shifted and moved out the door as quietly as he could. Once his feet touched the hall, he ran as fast as he could.

Only when he got to the nearest payphone did he realize he didn't fully close the door.

* * *

 "I don't know why I was there," he told Steve. They were sitting at a table at Tony Stark's place with Patchy - who's real name was Nick Fury - and the female from before - Natasha Romanov. Bucky remembered both of their faces, fighting with both of them because they had been apart of his mission. Now they were trying to help him figure out where he went the night before and why.

"Are you sure?" Fury asked sternly, one eye narrowed at him.

"She's familiar but..." He shook his head. "It's like I said, I fell asleep on Steve's couch and then I was there. He even vouched for me. And I contacted him to get me. Why would I do that if I had other plans?" Its didn't make sense. Then again, not much did to Bucky these days.  

Just then, Tony burst into the room, arms wide and him being showy about...something. "It just so happens that this woman? Just quit working for me the other day. So I already have a lot about her on file in my own personal database." He approached the table, pushed a few buttons at the far end where Fury was sitting and a holographic screen appeared for them all to see in the middle of the table. Bucky's eyes grew wide. At first he was just surprised at the technology; then he noticed what Tony was showing them.

On the screen was a full profile with her driver's licsense and a hell of a lot of words.

"Evangeline West..." Bucky said aloud, the name rolling off his tongue familiarly.

Everyone looked at him - some with suspicion, some with question - but Tony continued on talking. "What Robocop said. Her name's Evangeline West, works for Lennox Hill hospital and not me--"

"Wait, why did she quit?" Steve asked.

"She went to pick up my delivery from Paolo's and never came back. Maybe you could ask her for me?" he playfully asked with a smile.

Natasha stepped in to speak up before Tony and Steve started bickering, as they all knew they would. "How about I do a some observation on her? And I'll take Barnes with to see if anything comes to him."

"Hold on," Fury interjected. "There's the connection." He pointed at the screen. "Zoom in on previous experience." Tony touched the hologram in the area Fury was referring to. "SHIELD training. Field medical program. I remember that. Coulson was trying to pick out new agents. She must've been one of the ones that didn't make the cut, but was outsourced to a job at one of the surrounding medical facilities."

"Which still doesn't explain things fully."

Fury sighed. "We'll try your suggestion, Romanov. For now."

She shot a small smile at Bucky as the group dispersed, all getting up from the table. Steve, he and her were the ones that remained. "Let's get going then. I'll drop him at your place when we're done, Steve."

* * *

 "How's this supposed to help us observe this woman?" Bucky asked, half chuckling as he stared out the window of the car. The woman - Evangeline West - was going into a club called Pulse, following her male friend. He had a feeling this was Natasha's way of giving Bucky a chance to relax without someone's watchful eyes closely on him. It was a nice thought, if that's what she was doing, he supposed.

Natasha look at Bucky once, giving feigning an innocent look. "If she's going in there, we can't observe from out here." A smile and she was getting out of the car, pulling her jacket off and laying it in the driver seat. She leaned down, looking at Bucky. "Well?"

Without responding, he got out of the car and shut the door. She shut her door as he circled around. Looking over Natasha, she looked like she would fit in inside the club in her red tank top and black jeans that made finding where her boots started a test for the eyes. He, on the other hand... Well, Bucky was stuck wearing his dark peacoat and jeans, only a sweater he borrowed from Steve under the coat. Quickly, he pulled his coat and opened the driver side door to toss it inside the car. He turned to find Natasha already striding over to get them inside.

He rushed over to her side and she was talking to the bouncer low a moment before he nodded and let the two of them in. Bucky was a little amused at this, curious too. But there wasn't time to dwell on that. No room to think with how loud the music was inside either. "I'm going to do a sweep. See where they are," Natasha told him, voice loud. He nodded once before they parted ways. At least she trusted him enough to let him be alone in the crowded place.

Bucky moved to stand by an area by the entrance that looked like it was for lounging. He leaned against a pillar, watching the dance floor. Things certainly had changed since the 40's. The way the women moved was more provocative, more free. The way they dressed was just the same. But the men look almost the same, the only true change he could notice was in the clothes. No more twill pants and buttondown shirts with suspenders. It was all jeans and t-shirts. It almost made him long for how things were.

Only for a moment though because after a few passing minutes, his eye was caught. There was Evangeline West - the observation target - moving down the few steps and onto the dance floor. Something in him ached, like a punch to the stomach. So maybe Natasha's idea was a good one, but a feeling simply wasn't answering questions. Glancing around, Bucky didn't spot Natasha. She must've been somewhere else in the building in the sea of people. So it was down to him to make a judgement call to get closer.

His feet moved him down to the dancefloor and he told himself he would keep his distance, simply keeping an eye on her and swaying along to the music.

But his feet had other ideas, it seemed.

He found himself edging closer with every beat of the song. She wouldn't notice. Not when there were so many others around and doing just what they were - dancing. Bucky watched as she tipped her head back, hands moving her hair back. She seemed like something of a dream to him in that moment. Nothing could get him to stop himself from reaching a hand out to rest on her hip, fingers brushing against the soft fabric of her dress. It confirmed she was real.

And had her turning around, too.

For a second, Bucky waited for panic to set in, but it never came. He was calm as they moved together. It didn't seem as if she recognized him either. Though, it was dark in the place. He could pick out the glimmer of something on her lips, the tiny specks of amber in her brown eyes - all because of HYDRA. He cracked a slight smile at the awful fact that he was enjoying the serum's perks in the moment. Steve would probably want to smack him upside the head.

Evangeline ducked her head and giggled at something Bucky didn't know. It surely put him at ease. She wasn't recognizing him or anything strange like that...

Or maybe she did. Because she pulled away from him without warning and hurried through the crowd like some sort of scared rabbit running from a predator. He started to chase after her, weaving through the people until he nearly collided with Natasha. She stood with crossed arms, the expression on her face clearly warning him. "Guess this little experiment had results."

* * *

 

Once they got back to Steve's apartment, Bucky recalled everything he could from the alley. About how she took his pulse, started to call for help, and about how he broke her phone and hushed her before taking off.

"Maybe I was still in the mindset, but I didn't hurt her." The next sentence fell from his mouth before even he knew it would. "I can't hurt her."

Apparently, his words came out a little more robotic and soldier like to Steve and Natasha's ears because he noticed both of them shift their stance, as if they felt they might need to get defensive.

"Why can't you hurt her, Buck?" Steve asked.

"That's what we need to find out. Let me know if you remember anything else. I'm heading back to fill Fury in on this."

She left and Bucky fisted his hands into his hair, frustrated with himself for not being able to remember anything. Steve's voice tried to reassure him, but Bucky just let out a huff. "You gonna let me go out for a walk to clear my head?"

Steve stayed silent for a moment before shrugging one of his shoulders. "Fifteen minutes enough?"

It made Bucky feel like a child, but he'd take what Steve could give and be comfortable with. "Plenty."

* * *

He'd never tell anyone that he went to her on his walk, that he spoke with her face to face and promised to replace her phone by the next night. No, he wanted to try to piece the rest of the puzzle involving his mind and this woman on his own.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy almost 2015!
> 
> Crystal Reed is who I envision for Eva.

Four more hours.

Four more hours until the shift was over and she could go home. Eva felt exhausted. She didn't sleep much during the night and on top of that, she was on edge waiting for Bucky to show up. He hadn't exactly given her a time so the showing up could happen anytime.

She looked at her watch. Three hours and fifty nine minutes left. A lot could happen on a shift in that amount of time though.

A grumble and she buried her face in her hands as she sat on the back of the ambulence.

"Here," Dan's voice said. She glanced up to see him holding a cup of something steaming towards her. "Hot tea with plenty of honey."

"That's it," Eva grumbled. "We're getting you tested for mind reading." Dan laughed in response, smiling and shaking his head. She took a careful sip and added, "Thanks. I need something to keep me going."

"Even though that's going to make you get amped up from the sugar and then crash."

Eva shushed him. "You'll make the tea upset and then there could be no sugar rush." She was joking, naturally, since she didn't want him to start in on her bad eating habits.

Just as she was about to throw Dan under his own bus in a matter of speaking, a voice said, "Miss West?"

Mind too slow to recognize the voice, Eva called, "On the back of the truck! And it's Eva." Her eyes went to Dan and she shook her head. "When will people just stick to first names?" Dan looked at her curiously before his gaze went to a person that was circling around the side of the ambulence. It was the guy from the prior night - Bucky. What was he doing here? She almost was suspicious of him, but then remembered that he said he'd drop off the replacement cell phone he owed her. A sigh of relief and she said, "Sorry."

Bucky shook his head, dressed in the same attire when he'd knocked on her apartment door. "It's okay, Eva," he said, adding emphasis on her name as if to point out he was using it.

"Do you two know each other?" Dan asked curiously.

Eva hesitated. How did you explain meeting someone the way she'd met this guy. No matter how she'd explain it, it would sound ridiculous and she had a feeling that would put Dan into protective older brother mode. She was about to throw out a lie, but Bucky seemed to be a step ahead of her.

"She rescued me." Bucky cracked a smile and chuckled, looking at the ground. "To save my dignity, I'll just say it was a bad situation and she got me out of it. Her phone took some damage though, so..." He trailed off and held out a box that was for a new cell phone towards her. "I'm repaying the favor."

Impressed that he could be so convincing so quickly, she took the box and looked it over. Maybe he'd practiced a story or something in his head when he heard Dan talking. It made him more mysterious, but nonetheless, she was thankful he replaced her phone. She couldn't live without it at times. Eva looked up to Bucky, just about to thank him for the phone when the tones dropped and the dispatch for a call rang out. Instinct took over and she moved quickly, shoving the box and her tea into Bucky's hands as she sprung up and hurried to the passenger side of the ambulence.

"Repay it later," Eva threw over her shoulder as the door was pulled shut and they took off with a wail of sirens and flashing red lights.

* * *

The last few hours of the shift were nothing but back to back calls. Eva was beyond exhausted when she got back to her apartment in the early hours of the morning. She'd been so worn out that she hailed a cab for the couple of blocks she usually walked and took the elevator up to her floor.

When the doors slid open and she stepped out, her eyes glanced up to her door to see a person sitting against her door. They had their head down and short hair hanging, but she didn't need to see the face to notice that familiar coat. Had he waited here for her since she left the hospital on that call? That was, what, about five or so hours ago. Gosh, he was determined, wasn't he? A smile pulled across Eva's face and she approached him, only to clear her throat loudly.

He jumped and looked up at her, surprised. "Eva!" Bucky scrambled to his feet and stepped aside so she could get to the door.

"I don't know if your chivalry is cute or creepy. My brain's too tired to make a decision on it."

"Sorry," he started, blue eyes locking onto hers with that intensity she'd seen before. "But you said repay you later and I didn't know when you were done, so--"

"So you camped outside my door. Yeah, got that part." She waved a hand as if to say 'whatever' and used her key to unlock her door. Once she opened the door, Eva nodded to invite him in. "C'mon. You were probably waiting there for a while. It's the least I can do."

As she dropped her backpack to the floor and kicked off her boots, she heard his footsteps and the door close. "Thank you. And I really wasn't waiting that long. Honest."

Eva yawned once before she spoke again. "Oh well. I still should be nice." Even though she was feeling the grumpiness that went along with being tired sneak up on her. Like usual, she wasn't bothering to change out of her uniform yet and instead moved to her curtains and drew them shut before sitting down on her couch lazily. "I'd offer you something to drink, but--"

This time, he cut her off. Bucky pulled his coat off and said, "Let me. You look like you need some coffee."

She sighed, shutting her eyes relaxing into the couch. Goodness, it was as if Dan followed her home and was taking care of her. Maybe she needed to consider getting a roommate. Or a man in her life. Her brain snapped into alertness at the thought of a boyfriend and she grimaced, too many bad memories hitting her hard. A careful exhale and Bucky's voice distracted her.

"Where's your coffee pot?"

Without opening her eyes, Eva replied, "I have a single cup Keurig. I'm too lazy for a real coffee brewer." And she was proud to admit it. No beating around the bush about her habits, as she liked to say.

Silence set in for a few minutes and she thought to ask him if he knew how to work one of them, but there was that grumpiness again. If he wanted to make her coffee, she decided he should be able to figure it out. And he did figure it out. Eva wasn't sure how long it took him, but Bucky eventually cleared his throat. Her eyes flew open to see him standing with a steaming mug in his hand, a warm smile on his lips and blue eyes almost shining. Curse that look. It made her regret letting him fend for himself and potentially struggling.

"Can you stay awake long enough to even drink this?" Bucky asked, a playful tone to his voice.

"Quiet and gimmie my fix," she responded, sitting up just enough so she could reach out and grab the mug from him. Eva took a sip, regretting not waiting for it to cool and no doubt causing a tongue scalding that would hurt soon.

Bucky looked amused as he circled around to sit beside her, obviously careful to keep space between them. She appreciated that. He was still a stranger, after all.

Another sip of the liquid that burned all the way down her throat and Eva yawned again. "I have at least five questions for you."

He turned his head to look at her, a questioning look appearing on his face. "Which are?"

"What were you doing in the alley when I found you? It was pretty sketchy." Not that inviting a stranger that had camped outside your door wasn't sketchy, but that was beside the point. Bucky seemed alright to her so far. She sat her mug on the floor and shifted her body to direct her full attention to him - and to better lean her head comfortably on the back of the couch.

"It's a very long story," he said, brow furrowing and shaking his head.

"And I'm all ears."

Eva shut her eyes as Bucky started his story with every intent to open them again. She didn't though. His voice was all too smooth to her ears and she found herself falling asleep and missing the reason. 

It was just her luck. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a little thing for faces/who's who in the story. >> http://ash-cdj.insanejournal.com/43618.html

It was that dream again.

And it was back to haunt her worse than the last time.

This time around, when the car rammed into the side of theirs and she screamed - she saw the glass shards slice small lacerations into Oliver's face as his head collided with the steering wheel. Everything around them moved just as slow. Her body jerked forward and back as violently as it could against the seatbelt, she saw the road from a gruesome angle as the car flipped over onto its side and she felt the pull of gravity. She screamed out of fear as her head moved around like a bobblehead, knocking against the window and back of the seat.

Right there is where the dream usually cuts off and she wakes up. But it continued, jumping to her hanging awkwardly from her seat. The car was upside-down and the strain wasn't doing her any good. She called for Oliver's name and felt something warm run down the side of her face.

Blood dripped down onto the car's ceiling as she watched boots approach from the driver's side. Too many things hurt. There wasn't a chance in the world that she could move, whether she was too paralyzed from shock or pain was unknown - but there was no way she could prevent Oliver from slamming down when the seatbelt was ripped off him by a shining hand.

Long hair and all raccoon-looking blue eyes glared at her coldly as the person dragged Oliver from the car. She screamed for him just as darkness consumed her again.

The screaming didn't stop there; it carried over into the real world from her dream world.

"Stop! _Oliver_!" Eva screamed, fighting against hands she hadn't realized were there. They were strong and held her arms as she tried to flail them around. Over her screaming, she heard a voice. It hadn't belonged to Oliver and reminded her she wasn't dreaming anymore.

"Eva, _stop_! You're going to hurt yourself!"

She started to come to realization of where she was as she opened her eyes and the struggle eased, letting the hands that were trying to help her do what they wanted - or what the person attached to them wanted. Eva found herself staring up at Bucky. Apparently, she'd found her way to half using him as a pillow when she fell asleep. That wasn't even the embarrassing part. The embarrassing part was that her nightmare had been bad. And that someone was there to witness it. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly, sitting up quickly and hiding her face in her hands.

Moments of weakness were a thing she had, sure; there were enough of them to fill a lake honestly. She just didn't like having them happen in front of others. Eva put up a strong front and that's the way she wanted to keep it until she found someone she felt priviledged enough to see them. Mister stranger Bucky wasn't in that category.

"It's alright." At least when she peeked up at him from her hands, he didn't look angry. If anything, he looked understanding.

Eva's head bolted up. She'd fallen asleep with a stranger in her apartment. That was even worse than someone witnessing her having a nightmare. It looked as if Bucky was going to say something else and she cut him off. "Oh my god, I fell asleep while you were talking! Why didn't you wake me up? Or leave? And I probably hit you, didn't I? Oh my god, I assulted a stranger in my own home." There were too many questions and not enough answers. But it didn't look as if she was going to get answers because in that moment of her panic, her door burst open and two people entered.

"Bucky!"

"Don't move!"

One was a redheaded woman holding a gun that she held pointed steady at Bucky; the other a man that Eva very much recognized by the red and blue shield. He was Captain America. Only...he wasn't wearing what she knew him to usually wear. He was in normal civilian clothes just like everyone else.

Bucky was on edge it looked and Eva felt like her eyes were going to pop out of her head. "What the hell is going on?!" she screamed.

"Eva, please," Bucky said loudly to her. His look turned to the two standing in her doorway and he shouted, "Did you follow me?! Who the hell does this idea belong to, huh?"

"Miss, are you hurt?" Captain America asked.

"Does it look like she's hurt, Steve?" the redhead asked, lowering her gun and shooting Captain America a pointed look.

"I didn't hurt her! She was having a nightmare!" Bucky's voice lowered, but it still sounded loud to Eva's ears. And her head felt like it was going to explode with everything happening all at once.

The last thing she heard before her vision clouded and dimmed was Captain America - Steve - yelling at Bucky. "Buck, she's--"

* * *

When Eva came to again, her vision was blurry. Through the blur, she thought it looked as if Oliver was standing over her and he looked just as she remembered - tousled chocolate brown hair, those worrisome blue eyes, and a hint of a smile on his face.

"Oliver?" she asked weakly.

"Who's Oliver?"

And just like that, the world came back into perfect view and it wasn't Oliver she was seeing. It was the redhead from her apartment, the one that burst in with a gun. Eva scrambled in shock, defenses imediately kicking in but the world spun before she could properly move.

"Hey, whoa. Chill out," the redhead told her.

Eva squeezed her eyes shut and brought her hands up to cover her face. "What's going on?"

"You fainted and have been out for the past twenty minutes." She sat back in the chair she was seated in and crossed her arms. "You're just lucky that Bucky caught you. Otherwise, you would've cracked your head good."

A groan and Eva carefully lowered her hands and cracked open her eyes. One look around to survey what was going on better and she realized she was no longer in her apartment. She was sitting up on a long leather couch in an unfamiliar place. A nice place, with a wide open view of the city; but still an unfamiliar place, nonetheless. "Where am I?" Concern laced her voice. Had they kidnapped her?

"Stark Tower. Bucky demanded to bring you back to have you looked at by Dr. Banner." She smirked, ducking her head to laugh. "He refused to leave your side until Dr. Banner was getting green around the gills from all his questions."

Eva stared at the woman blankly. Confused and having no idea what she was talking about. For the most part, anyways. She knew where Stark Tower was and had been there once before on that lone day she was Tony Stark's personal assisstant. "Okay?"

The woman looked up at her again and her expression turned serious. "So, do you want to tell me about Oliver now?"

Opening her mouth to speak, Eva was going to tell the woman no. That she didn't have to tell her anything or talk about Oliver because she wasn't comfortable with it. Fortunately enough for her though, Bucky burst into the room with Captain America in tow behind him to save her from any miserable denials. "You're awake, thank god. We were all worried. Are you feeling alright?"

She wanted to protest, that the woman didn't seem all too concerned about her well being and was more interested in interrogating her; but Eva bit her tongue and nodded. "My head's kind of feels funny but that's probably expected. I've never fainted before."

Bucky knelt beside the couch beside her to watch her with warm eyes as Captain America said, "We're sorry about your door and...everything. We just heard screaming and thought something was wrong."

"But how--"

"Miss West," a voice said loudly. Everyone turned to see Nick Fury standing by the door, arms crossed. "It's good to see you're up. I need to speak with you in private for a moment before you're on your way."

Getting kicked out so soon? She had questions to ask and answers to share , yet apparently, there wasn't enough time for that. She got up and Bucky lended a hand to help steady her. She thanked him, appreciating his kindess and followed Nick Fury out the door into the hallway. The door slid shut easily and his hands went behind his back. She knew the stance, had seen him once like that in the past. An uneasey feeling settled in her stomach as she greeted him. "Colonel Fury."

"It's just Nick now. I'm not a colonel anymore. And as you probably already heard, S.H.I.E.L.D is no more."

"And?" Eva wasn't sure where the conversation was headed. It wasn't as if she ever was a part of the organization. She'd simply gone through a fragment of the training process years back, never passing to become a field medic.

"This world still needs a little help. But to help, we need to organize. And I'm organizing a group of people with certain needed skills. You've already met some of them. Tony Stark, Steve Rogers who you might know as Captain America, James Barnes--"

"Sorry, are you asking me to somehow do something like they can?"

"No, we need you medical skills. They might not have been up to S.H.I.E.L.D standards, but I saw your preliminary scores back then and you meet mine. I just need to know if we can count on you, Miss West."

Even though the man claimed to not be a colonel anymore, he still had the air of one. Eva swallowed a forming lump in her throat and took in a breath. There was a moment of confliction as her eyes went to the floor, staring at her feet and weighing the options in her mind. If she said yes, that could mean good things for her future...or bad things. But if she said no, then she'd just continue through the same old lifestyle she always had been. And hadn't becoming an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D been a goal of hers since Oliver's influence on her life?

"I'll do it," she said through a careful exhale. "When do I start?"


	8. Chapter 8

Talk about being caught off guard.

Eva couldn't believe that she was standing in a very advanced medical bay that Tony Stark had built under the famed Stark Tower. Apparently, it was thought out so that when they get back from missions, they could patch up as soon as they get in the underground garage that was strictly for Avengers personel. It was even harder to believe that she was - essentially - one of them.

Not that she was actually out there, fighting bad guys and saving the world.

No, instead, she was stitching up Clint Barton. Who insisted on continuing to whine about the process.

"Couldn't you do that a little faster? Like, if you just used one of Tony's tech robots to--"

"For the tenth time, Clint. No. You can't replace robots with humans for everything," Eva told the archer.

Nearby, Tony was tinkering with one of the black SUVs they used. His head popped up from behind the hood and said, "Yeah, what if it malfunctioned and turned your arm into the chick's from Nightmare Before Christmas?" He shot Clint a pointed look paired with a smirk and immediately, Clint frowned. "Now let the assistant do her job."

The tiny smile of amusement Eva wore from listening to the snark sank away at being called an assistant. "Am I never going to get called anything other than that?"

"Absolutely not," Tony replied, disappearing behind the car again to work.

"My life, ladies and gentlemen," she muttered, going back to work on Clint's stitches.

* * *

 The day was uneventful beyond stitching Clint's arm. Word from Fury had been passed onto her by Natasha - the red head from before - and she took that as her dismissal. 

As she was waiting for the elevator to get to the ground floor from where she had been visiting Dr. Banner and filling out paperwork about Clint's miniscule wound, the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Eva glanced up to see the floor number. Tenth. Great.

"Afternoon Miss West," a voice said to her.

Attached to the voice was Captain America. Or rather, Steve Rogers, since she worked with him now and had to use his name and not just the title. Eva smiled at him, giving a nod. "Steve. Mission go well?"

"I actually didn't join them today." He stepped into the elevator as he spoke, hands in his pockets of his jacket and a shrug as an added response. "Bucky and I were working on some of our stuff today."

"What kind of stuff?" Eva asked curiously. Not that she expected to get a real answer. It was always something when it came to asking questions with agents. It never struck her that Captain America himself might be a little more honest.

"Taking a trip down memory lane," Steve began, a fond smile on his face that slowly sunk into a frown. "You know about him right? I'm sure they told you seeing as you're the whole medical team." Eva shook her head to signify the lack of knowledge and Steve's frown sunk deeper. "If you're leaving for the day, let me walk you home and I'll fill you in. And I'd like to fix your door, as well."

 Eva had almost forgot she was talking to Captain America, that everyone made him out to be a nice guy. She was used to pigheaded guys of her generation. Frankly, he'd caught her off guard. "Really?"

"I broke it. So it only makes sense if I fix it. I troubled you enough."

"Well...actually, thank you Steve. That'd be really helpful." She managed a small laugh, covering her hand with her mouth. "You're sure keeping chivalry alive."

"I'll take that as a compliment, I guess?"

"Yup. Do that," Eva replied with a nod.

* * *

The walk to her apartment was only a few blocks, but it seemed longer as Steve started to explain who Bucky was. He just began to touch on his friend getting experiemented on when they entered her building. Two sets of stairs and Eva felt something throb in her chest sympathetically as he told her about his arm, that he'd lost in back in the 40's on a mission and how that had been the last time he saw his friend up until recently.

"I'm so sorry," she said, frowning as they entered her apartment.

Steve immediately made himself busy, picking up the downed door and propping it against the wall it belonged apart of. "So am I."

And then he went silent as he worked. Eva couldn't help but feel for him. Losing someone he'd been close to... She knew how that felt. The thoughts of Oliver started to surface again and she pushed them down, shaking her head and finding her own busy work. "Do you like coffee Steve? I can make you a cup."

"I'll have some if you are, sure."

Eva moved into her little kitchen area and started her little machine to make him a cup of coffee; a cup of tea for herself, too. "He's alright now though, right?" She couldn't help but ask. When she'd met him properly, it didn't seem as if he was a bad guy or in any trouble. Then again, remembering how she'd first encountered him made her think otherwise. That maybe it was a hush hush thing Bucky was hiding.

"He's fine. Sometimes he doesn't sleep and he's still as stubborn as a mule, but Buck's alright." His voice traveled into the kitchen and he followed it, taking a seat at her small table and sending a bright expression her way. Eva handed him the cup of coffee and sat across from him with her own cup, sipping at the tea as Steve added, "To be honest, he's been in a good mood the past few days. And he hasn't stopped talking about you."

"Oh?" Her brow raised. She was just a stranger to Bucky, so it was a surprise to hear that he was talking about her. "Only good things, I hope," she joked lightly.

"Nothing but," he nodded.

Unsure of what to make of the man talking to Steve about her, she sipped at her tea again.

Just then, two things happened simultaneously. Her phone chirpped loudly from the coffee table and there was a knocking sound that could only be coming from the door that Steve mended. With a furrowed brow, she stood and moved to get her phone. The knocking came again and louder as she saw it was a text message from Dan, asking why he heard she quit the hospital.

"Eva, please open up," she heard Bucky's strained voice call. Eva glanced at Steve, who rose from his seat with a concerned look. She quickly hurried to the door and opened it, only to find Bucky breathing heavily with a stricken expression. As soon as his eyes settled on hers, the blue seemed to swim with sorrow. Eva opened her mouth, just about to ask what was wrong as he spoke again. "It was me. I did it. It's all my fault and I'm so sorry."

She was confused to his words for a moment, but then it clicked.

Oliver.

It was him that day that killed Oliver.

"Oh my god," Eva gasped, hands coming up to cover her mouth as tears started to sting at her eyes. Steve was at her side just as she collapsed to the ground in a fit of tears. All she could hear was her own sobs and her heart thumping in her ears while hands were on either side of her arms in attempt to soothe. Somewhere along the sounds, Steve shouted something at Bucky who immediately disappeared.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback chapter! ...That turned out longer than I expected.
> 
> Also, this story will not be AOU or Civil War compliant - but it will feature similar elements.

"Dispatch is going nuts," Dan said, holding his portable radio close to his ear as they ran across the sidewalk.

People were running in the opposite direction as them, most panicked and shouting. Some were covered in soot, others had blood in random spots. Eva went as fast as her legs could carry her, being cautious to not run into the others moving around them. She shifted the weight of the medical duffel bag she had fashioned into a backpack on her shoulders.

"The city's in chaos. What do you expect?"

People became more scarce and the duo slowed to a halt. Dan's eyes were fixed on the sky and Eva curiously followed his eyes upwards. There was a giant glowing hole in the sky. Her mouth dropped, shock began to take over until she heard someone shouting for help. She tore her eyes away and saw a building front surrounded in debris, a person stretching an arm out as they signaled for help. Once her senses adjusted, Eva noticed it wasn't just that one person for help. There were screams coming from every direction, on top of what sounded to be gun blasts. She watched as Dan led the way to the person waving for help and quickly followed.

"Sir, hold on." A large piece of rubble was on his leg pinning him down. "Eva, can you--"

Before he could ask, she was already crawling in as quickly and carefully as possible and assisting in pushing the rubble off.

"You got this?" she asked, crawling back out and already heading towards the next shout. "Tell dispatch we're gonna need something nearby. Triage tents. Something." There was no time to hear a response or coments about who was the higher ranked provider. All she knew was she needed to step up. Eva ran across the street where a woman was laying face down. She checked for a pulse as dust and soot settled around her - nothing. She ducked her head and shifted on her foot, only to spot a man a few feet down the sidewalk firing at an unknown entity farther down in smoke.

Something whizzed by overhead in that moment, firing down on the sidewalk and she wanted to shout 'look out' but the strange plasma like blast rained down. Eva hurried under cover of the building's entrance way beside her. As soon as it passed, she summoned every ounce of bravery to dart down the sidewalk to the man, ducking behind the newsstand he was taking cover with. The man, unconcious and leaning against the stand limply. His gun was beside his hand and Eva saw blood dripping down the side of his head. "Shit... Hey! Can you hear me!" She shouted, pulling the medical bag from her back and getting no response. From the front most pocket, she unzipped and reached blindly for a smelling salt. Eva popped it and waved it under his nose, bringing him snapping back awake. The man scrambled momentarily but stopped, hand on his gun and pointing it at Eva.

Her hands went up in defense, saying, "Whoa. Just helping you out. Friendly."

The man lowered the gun and exhaled a deep breath before peeking out at the scene of smoke in front of the newsstand. "You're not SHIELD."

"Probably cracked your head. We need to get you out of here." She looked him over once, noting the all black clothing and a badge hanging around his neck. Either he was police or a goverment agent of some sort. All the more reason to escort him out for further medical attention. He seemed to be shifting in and out of awareness, signaling to Eva head injury. "Sir? Can you tell me your name?"

He took a few rapid breaths as she helped him to his feet, getting him to lean on her as they shambled away from the destruction. "Oliver," he finally said.

* * *

With every nearby hospital packed to the gills with people getting checked out from the mayhem that happened in Manhattan, Eva slipped into overdrive to help out at Lennox Hill. She lost track of how many hours she'd been in the fray, how many people she'd seen injured or worse, how many hours she spent awake and wired with adrenaline. There was still plenty to be done in the aid process and she was only stopped in one of the hallways of the emergency room to breathe for a moment when there was a hand on her shoulder from behind, jarring her.

"Excuse me?"

She tried to compose herself as she turned, facing the owner of the hand. The body attached to the hand wasn't one she initially recognized, confusion overtaking her. There were a lot of faces she saw since setting foot in the hospital with that head injury guy. "Oh wait, are you--"

"Oliver," he said, holding out his hand for a shake. "You brought me in."

Eva met his hand for a shake, nodding her head slowly and trying to remember better. "The one by the newsstand. With the gun..." It was clearer now, but he looked different without soot covering him. Mussed ash blond hair, dark blue eyes, and the beginnings of a stubble across his jaw. His clothes were still dirty from the wreckage - gray shirt, black jacket, dark blue jeans - splattered with areas of dust. If it weren't for the circumstances, Eva would have thought that the man would've been approachable out and about. Trying to get away from her straying mind, she added, "I remember, yeah. I'm Evangeline. Hi."

"The nurse said you might be over this way. I just wanted to say thank you before I go."

Of course he wanted to thank her. What else could he have approached her for? It wasn't an uncommon thing for patients to thank her, so she just nodded in reponse.

"Not many people are willing to stick their neck out like that for strangers," he added.

It was starting to sound like there was something he was trying to get at. So Eva canted her head curiously as she said, "Guess I just don't fall into that 'most people' group." She paused, adding, "Was there...something else? Not that I'm busy or working right now. They actually said I need to take a break, so..."

Even though she was rambling from the lack of sleep settling in, Oliver didn't seem to be detered. He cracked a small smile, even giving a small chuckle as he pulled a scrap of paper from his jacket pocket. "It's not what you think, but I'd like to talk to you over coffee. When things are calmer, obviously."

Eva took the scrap of paper. "About?"

"When it's calm. And over coffee," Oliver said pointedly as he moved past her.

It was cryptic to Eva. Maybe a little too cryptic for her liking. She watched as he exited the hospital out the side door at the end of the hallway, scrap of paper between her fingers that she looked at again once he was gone.

_'Oliver Burke. 212-555-2468'_

* * *

"You know why you were invited here," the woman started as she paced around the group. "You've shown exceptional skill and in light of recent attacks and--" Eva was paying attention. She really was. It was just that as she stood in the building that apparently belonged to a company known as S.H.I.E.L.D. She'd never heard of them before and had no idea how she'd shown them any sort of skill. Not really, anyways. Until she noticed a familiar face among the ones that worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.

There stood Oliver. His outfit was similar to the last time she saw him in the hospital, just more clean. The only other difference was the beard he was sporting. She couldn't help but watch him curiously, wondering if maybe this was what he wanted to talk over coffee about with her.

Suddenly, his eyes turned to lock with hers. Eva hadn't expected him to look in her direction, silently panicked, and returned to listening to the woman.

"Over the course of this test, you'll be paired with one of our veteran agents who'll be observing you closer and assisting you in the scenarios. Keep in mind, it's the word of myself and Director Fury that are going to be the final decider and we'll be monitoring everything." She stopped pacing, only to glance over in the direction of where Oliver was standing among the other agents. "Please listen for your name to be called."

There weren't many with Eva being tested. She counted ten others as names began to be called. Hers was called just as she looked ahead at the woman again and Eva moved forward, wondering which agent was going to be paired with her. To her luck, Oliver took a few steps and motioned for her to follow him. She felt the nervous little flutters in her stomach settle in knowing that it wouldn't be a total stranger with her.

"Evangeline," he said curtly.

"Eva," she corrected. "This explains a lot."

He raised a brow. "Explains what?"

"The gun. The badge." Eva shrugged and noticed everyone was paired, along with the woman no longer talking. Her eyes went back to Oliver and she asked, "What now agent Oliver?"

"Now the test begins."

* * *

Two hours later, Eva found herself face down on a soft mat. Oliver had her pinned, a hand keeping her arm against her back as he used his body for the rest. She struggled, trying to wiggle him off to no avail. A grumble and kick of her feet and Eva let her cheek rest against the cool mat with a huff.

"You have to find an opening," Oliver explained.

"I'm not a fighter. This isn't my thing."

"Are you saying you're giving up?"

"No," Eva said through a sigh.

"Then find an opening."

Eva took a moment to breath and considered the situation again. Oliver had her pinned down - both hands holding her arm to the center of her back and a knee pressing down on her left leg. She had her other arm available, but wasn't sure what much that would do. It wasn't like she could overpower him. The last option was her other leg. "What if I kicked you? I mean, I don't know if I'm that flexible, but..."

Oliver's grip and weigh lifted from her. "A more difficult choice of action, but good." She looked up to see him back on his feet and offering a hand to help her up. She pushed up and accepted it, getting back to her feet. "The next scenario might be more up your alley." A curious look and she watched while Oliver grabbed a nearby duffel bag left by another testing pair. "In here are various medical supplies. I'm going to give you a scenario and you have to show what supplies you'd use and explain."

He was right - this was something she could excell at. He handed Eva the bag and she knelt down with him, opening the bag. "Bring it on."

* * *

Days later, Eva was sitting down with the woman that led the testing - Maria Hill. The office was open and felt airy with large glass windows, yet purely professional with the monotonous color scheme. Eva fidgeted for a moment before Maria began to finally speak, looking up from the paperwork she had in front of her.

"Miss West, unfortunately, your results weren't up to par with what we're looking for."

"Oh." Yes, she was disappointed to hear that, but it wasn't completely unexpected. Eva thought she did horribly when it came to most of the test. Just about to thank her for the chance to test, Maria spoke first.

"Your medical performance was impressive was impressive though. You were quicker on your feet compared to the others. Because of this, we'd like to offer you a position at Lennox Hill hospital."

Eva was shocked. First, they say she's not up to standards; then they're offering her a job at the hospital? How was that possible anyways? Did this S.H.I.E.L.D company own the building? That wasn't something she knew of... "I mean, I'd love to. I just don't know how I'd feel being there compared to out on the street where I can help more."

"Lennox Hill is about to aquire their own ambulence service. You'd be a great addition."

Hesitation occured, only because leaving where she worked now meant leaving Dan. She thoughtfully chewed her lip a moment before asking, "If I accepted, would there be room for a recommendation from me?" She knew it was probably asking too much. It was worth a try.

Maria didn't protest. Actually, Eva was surprised when she took up a pen and looked at her expectedly. "Of course."

Eva gave Dan's name and even went on to explain that he'd been the best partner she worked with over the five years she'd been working in the field. Maria thanked her for the suggestion, shook her hand, and said she'd see her at the hospital in three days time to start. Eva accepted happily, leaving the office with a new job on the horizon. Things turned out better than she expected them to. A smile was plastered on her face as she passed the hallway towards the main entrance of the building.

"That's a mighty big smile you have there, Eva," a voice said. She followed the sound and saw Oliver sitting by the hallway's entrance in the lobby. He had a styrofoam cup of something in his hand, leading her to believe he was on a break or something along those lines. The leather jacket from previous interactions was gone though, short sleeves of a gray shirt revealing tanned arms that didn't look defined underneath the jacket. Joke was on her, she guessed.

Smoothing her blouse, Eva replied, "I just was offered a job by Maria Hill."

"Congratulations. Did you accept?"

"I did. It's not for here though. Apparently, I didn't do that great the other day, so they offered me something at Lennox Hill."

Oliver nodded, taking a sip from his cup before blue eyes were back to looking at her. "So it wouldn't be strange if I asked you to go to dinner with me?"

Eva blinked once, twice, and then wondered if the rug was about to be pulled out from under her. A new job and being asked out? All too good to be true. She waited for a laugh or quick revoke of the offer, but it didn't come. So she had to answer him. "I don't think it would, no." She smiled at him, ducking her head to move hair behind her ears. "I still have your number. I'll call you?"

"I'd like that."

She shifted her feet, shooting him a shy smile before turning to exit. Eva glanced back to wave at Oliver, who waved back. "I'll be in touch then."


	10. Chapter 10

Throughout the rest of the day, she had a few of her new co-workers coming into her apartment to check up on her. Steve wanted to stay by her side and figure things out, but with Bucky missing he made it his task to find him. Natasha had poked her head in and Dr. Banner accompanied her, trying to take the medical and theraputic approach.

Eva was presently curled up in her bed, feeling nothing but numb. Listening to Bruce and Natasha explain that Bucky hadn't been himself when he killed Oliver was still sinking in. That and the fact that she'd heard the words 'I'm sorry' more times today than she had in a long time.

She pulled the sleeves of her sweater farther over her hands before pulling her knees up close to her chest. There was a lot to think about: Oliver, Bucky, the questions surrounding that day and the death. She'd just recently had herself to the point where his death hadn't bothered her as much anymore, where she felt she could move on with life. Now? Now she had no idea. Here was a man she attempted to help on a whim in the city that turned out to be someone she though was decent, that maybe he could eventually be someone in her life. Turned out, he already was. He was Oliver's killer.

A sob slipped from her and she leaned her forehead against her knees, letting tears fall onto her sweatpants. Eva stayed like that for a while, long enough that she lost track of time and drifted off to sleep.

Her eyes flickered open after a while, something pulling her awake. She blinked a few times, noticing she wasn't laying in her bed anymore. No, she found herself instead in what seemed to be a ballroom colored all in white and ivory. Eva turned a few times, looking around. "What..." As strange as it seemed, she was remembering she'd been here before. A year back a friend from school got married and this was their reception. But it was completely void of people.

"Hello?"

Looking down, she noticed she was in the very same dress she'd worn to the event: a black flowy dress that stopped just above her knees with black suede heels. The long sleeves of the dress felt soft against her skin and Eva was struck with concern. What was going on? How was she back here? Was she losing her mind? Her breath grew rapid with anxiety and she took a step back before turning on her heel and starting to run past the tables and chairs drenched in white colors, hopefully to somewhere safe.

"You're leaving already?"

Eva stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of the voice, heart dropping as she shut her eyes. A deep inhale and she wasn't sure if she wanted to turn around, knowing who the voice belonged to. Her eyes stayed shut, fluttering as she fought emotions welling up. It took her a second but she found her own voice and was able to finally respond. "Might as well, right?"

When she heard his voice reply, it was closer. "I was hoping you'd at least want to dance with me first." A chuckle and he added, "For old time's sake."

She couldn't fight it anymore. Eva turned around and found Oliver standing not two steps away on the wooden panel dance floor, dressed in a dark navy suit and blue tie. Her heart thudded in her chest, eyes watering up with her control teetering. "You want to dance?" she asked, voice cracking as emotions choked her.

His expression faltered, taking the few steps to close the space between them so he could cradle her face in his hands. "Hey. What's wrong?" Concern laced his voice and his brow furrowed to match. She didn't even realize she was crying until he rubbed thumbs over her cheeks. "Eva..."

"I'm dreaming," she managed to say through sobs. "You're not here. You died." Eva wanted to cave in on herself, to let the sobs take over and cry until she was back in her bedroom. Alone and cold.

Oliver shook his head, a slight smile gracing his lips. "So maybe you're right. But it doesn't mean it's not real." His smile curved wider and he asked, "You don't believe in spirits? An afterlife?"

Eva shook her head, trying to calm herself and hiccuping once. These things were never something that crossed her mind. She saw death almost daily and never wondered what else there was. Heard a few times from patients that were revived about lights and tunnels, but she never thought farther into it. She just left it to people beliving what they wanted to.

"Come on," he said, wiping away the last stray tears and shifting his hands to her waist. "Just one dance."

A shaky exhale and Eva nodded, bringing her arms up to rest around Oliver's neck. Soft music began ghosting around them, playing a wordless melody that they could sway to. The two of them started to move, taking steps around the floor as they moved to the music. She leaned her head on his shoulder, wondering if she should say something. Perhaps ask a question to fill the gap. "I miss you." The words spilled from her lips before she could choose something more thoughtful.

"I wish you didn't have to." He paused, giving something that sounded close to a sigh. "If I would've known the consequences, I would've stayed away. Far away. Continents."

Straightening up, Eva watched his face sternly. "Consequences? What do you mean?"

Oliver licked his lips, clearly debating his words before speaking. "S.H.I.E.L.D had people on the inside. They were from a group we thought were gone called H.Y.D.R.A. I joined, only to get information for us. So what happened that day? Wasn't an accident like they said."

She didn't want to think about it to bring the memory of hanging from his car, the mess of shattered glass and blood. Eva avoided the particular aspect of it all and said, "I saw him. When it happened. And I know who he is now."

"The Soldier?"

"Bucky. He... He told me he did it." Eva shook her head. She'd thought he was an okay guy, just troubled. But she'd been wrong, it seemed.

"He was under H.Y.D.R.A's control. Brainwashed. I got close enough to see what they did to him." Oliver looked away from Eva as the music seemed to speed up, both of their feet moving to keep up. He spared a hand from her waist to take the mirrored one of hers on his shoulder into his. A shake of his head and he added, "I don't blame him." Eva's jaw fell open, confused at what he was saying. She was about to press and ask why, but he cut her off. "Enough of that. It's not why we're here."

"Then why are we?" Eva ducked her head, smiling almost sadly as she asked, "Am I dying?

He pulled his hand from hers, tucking a finger under her chin to bring her eyes to his and said through a chuckle, "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

"Sorry." He even had her laughing a little. It really did sound ridiculous, even though to be dancing with Oliver seemed pretty crazy in itself. She waited for his explanation, their hands reuniting.

Oliver let go of her waist and spun Eva out, keeping hold of her hand so he could easily bring her back into swaying. "Eva, I never got to tell you a lot of things. And I'll regret it forever. But you? You have a chance. Do what you love and find someone who can make you happy."

"You made me happy. I l--"

"Please don't say it. I don't want you to do this to yourself," Oliver said as he shook his head, eyes squeezed shut. "I love you, Eva; but you have to be happy."

At this point, Eva was fighting her emotions. Tears were escaping her eyes as she bit her lip to stop herself from crying. "Oliver..." The music faded and Eva had a sinking feeling in her stomach. They stopped dancing and she kissed his cheek, wrapping her arms around him for a hug. It lasted a fleeting moment and she felt his arms around her before he was gone. She looked around to see she was alone in the ballroom again. Her legs threatened to give out under her, wobbling. Stumbling back, Eva fell back to sitting on one of the white chairs while a few stray tears snuck their way down her face.

"I'll watch over you," she thought she heard Oliver's voice whisper in her ear as she shut her eyes. It felt comforting to hear that, but strange. Something didn't seem right with it. 

Jolting up, Eva found herself awake and sitting in bed. She touched her face to find fresh tears and noticed she was still in her sweater and sweatpants, just as she had been before falling asleep.

A noise from the living room caught her attention and had her near springing out of bed. Maybe there was a rare chance she was still dreaming. Maybe that rare chance got even rarer and had Oliver sitting on the couch, never have met his doom that day on the highway. Eva hurried out the doorway and saw a figure hunched over on the couch. She opened her mouth, about to call Oliver's name; but it wasn't him. It was...

"How the hell did you get in here, Bucky?"

His shoulders were hunched and he turned his head to glance at her. "He told me they were going to try and help me," Bucky said quietly as he stared off towards the dark television. "Right before he died."


End file.
